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- Getting ready for labor is exciting
and can be intimidating.
By learning what to expect, you'll feel more empowered
during your experience.
Here at UC San Diego you will labor in the same private room
that you'll deliver in.
You may choose who you would like to stay with you
during your labor and delivery.
During flu season children may be asked to remain
off the labor and delivery floor.
When you first arrive at labor and delivery,
you will be evaluated in a triage room similar
to an emergency room for pregnant women.
Once you've been admitted to the hospital,
you'll be escorted to your labor and delivery room.
Your care team will monitor your labor progress
with cervical examinations.
If you desire an epidural, the anesthesiologist will come
to your labor room for placement.
Often patients are able to eat and drink freely
during labor unless they have an epidural
or require labor augmentation with medication.
Once your cervix has become completely dilated,
your provide will encourage you to start pushing.
Your team will help you to learn how to push effectively,
bearing down with the contractions
to help move the baby through the birth canal.
Pushing often takes a few hours.
Think carefully about who you would like
in the room during this time,
who will support and encourage you the most,
keeping the focus and energy on you
and what you need while you're pushing.
Anyone else can wait in the waiting room.
While your baby is delivering, your provider will be guiding
and supporting you during the process
to help minimize your risk of tearing.
Episiotomy or cutting the vaginal opening
to widen it is only used for emergencies.
The rest of your care team
will be checking your vital signs,
monitoring the baby's well-being,
and anticipating the needs of your provider
to give you excellent care.
Immediately after delivery your baby will be placed
on your chest, ideally in a skin-to-skin fashion.
This will be one of the best moments of your life.
By keeping your baby directly on your skin,
you will also be helping to keep her warm
and enhance her sense of safety
with your sounds, smell, and person.
This also helps with nursing,
and sometimes your baby will start to nurse right away.
Don't worry if your baby takes a little while
to learn to nurse.
Our lactation team is available to help,
and all the nurses and providers are trained as well.
Your care team will be evaluating your baby carefully
while she's with you to make sure
that she's transitioning well.
We routinely perform delayed cord clamping,
which allows your baby to get as much
of the the blood supply as possible
before clamping and cutting the cord.
Your provider will clamp the cord and encourage you
or your support person to cut the cord
while your baby is still skin-to-skin.
You'll then be given a medication
that helps prevent postpartum bleeding,
and your provider will help you
to deliver the afterbirth called the placenta.
If you do have a small tear, which is common,
especially in first-time mothers,
your provider will make sure
that you have sufficient pain medication,
usually with a local injection around the area,
prior to suturing the tear.
Absorbable sutures are used, which will be gone
by about four to six weeks without having to be removed.
Your team will then help get you comfortable
for nursing your baby.
Ideally you'll be able
to continue uninterrupted skin-to-skin time
with your baby for at least 30 minutes.
Please encourage your loved ones to resist the urge
to interrupt this precious time.
After a few hours of recovery period,
you and your baby will be escorted to your postpartum room
where you will both complete your hospital stay together
until discharge.
If at any point during delivery
or postpartum your team is concerned for your baby's health,
they may recommend further assessment
in the baby warmer in your room; or, potentially,
a short stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or NICU.
Your team will always explain what the concerns are
and why temporary separation may be necessary.
You may designate someone to be with your baby
if you're recovering and unable to personally go
with your baby to the NICU.
Once you have recovered, you have 24/7 access
to your baby in the NICU.
Throughout your delivery, please ask questions
or voice concerns or desires.
This is your delivery; and as your treatment team,
we want this to be the best experience it can be
while ensuring the ultimate goal
of healthy mom and healthy baby.
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